Extraordinary Stuff

July 18, 2024

In yesterday’s blog I calculated that I would enjoy the evening celebrations, and I was more than merely entertained.  It was extraordinary stuff.

It started right after dinner with a short camper-driven concert in the Great Room of the Main Lodge. You can follow my photo album just posted if you want visual evidence.  There in front of the indigenous stone fireplace and moose antlers from Mt. Piermont, you can see Will Kats on the ivories with his cronies playing first “Let It be “and then “A Sky Full of Stars.”

Scott Shupe and Swampy Satola comprised the counselor support team and did their usual terrific job at keeping the boys on task and the audience focused on the performance. Don’t try this at home; you won’t make it.

Early in the show, Matthew Smiles stunned the crowd with a fabulous performance of “Everlong” which not only received a hearty applause but provided proof that the audience really was paying attention.

At the mid-point, we had our lone counselor performance with Jacob doing the crooning of a song called “Tempted” with accompaniment by Swampy and Scott. Rafa and Ollie kicked in with a nice rendition of “Wish You Were Here” and the grand finale was a masterful solo piano piece by Liam Jackson – “The Theme From Interstellar,” the best movie ever, they told me. If the flick is half as good as Liam’s performance, this author will be persuaded.

We knew showers were on the way but some precision mathematics allowed us to gamble we could make it, so out of doors to the Counsel Fire we poured in order to celebrate Old-Timers night.  The “Six Year” gift always is the highlight as it is something different every year.

The enthusiasm amongst those receiving this prize is legitimate and I had to provide multiple photos to make the point. Nearly 70 persons were honored, with tenures from 40 to 6 years.  It adds up to thousands of collective Kingswood summers and the Wipflers are more proud of this than any other camp statistic.

The two-year folks got tumblers and as the rain drops started to fall, I snapped a couple of shots and then got out of there.

I liked Sara’s album, too, and it could easily have been titled “The Arms and Legs of Boys.”